morris mn - We're a community on the grand, seemingly endless prairie of the Upper Midwest. Empty, you might say? It's the epitome of richness, both in the overall environment and the hardy souls who populate. Morris is home to the University of Minnesota-Morris, a small public liberal arts college of distinction.

History-making music group for UMM - morris mn

The UMM men's chorus opened the Minnesota Day program at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition).

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Les Lindor, WCSA graduate and teacher, RIP

The circle of people with direct knowledge of the West Central School of Agriculture is shrinking. The WCSA was the predecessor to the University of Minnesota-Morris.

Our campus has in fact gone through multiple chapters. It's a reminder that education evolves. Nothing should be assumed to be permanent. These publicly-supported institutions must be responsive to public needs. Those needs evolve and thus the institutions.

We lost a prominent person with ties to the WCSA recently. Les Lindor passed away. We attended his funeral on Monday, 9/17. He could be written about in a great many ways, as he lived a multi-faceted life. His ties to the WCSA (and later West Central Experiment Station) were an important dimension.

Les was born in 1920 in Cyrus. He graduated from the WCSA in 1938 as the U.S. was emerging (maybe in fits and starts) from the throes of the Great Depression. He continued his education with the University of Minnesota, getting both his bachelor's and masters degrees from the St. Paul campus. My father Ralph E. Williams was involved in music education at the St. Paul campus.

Eventually Les and Ralph both ended up out here in the wide open spaces and bountiful farmland of West Central Minnesota. They ended up out here as next-door neighbors! We shared our acquaintance on Northridge Drive.

After the sad passing of Les' wife Virginia (Gina), I helped make sure Les got his proper desserts many weekends, delivering a piece of homemade cake (OK, made from a mix) to his house. Steve Poppe was impressed by that. Our dog Sandy also helped enrich Les' life post-Gina. We were happy to do what we could. His friendship certainly enriched our lives.

Engineering was Les' profession. He left the Upper Midwest for a time, plying his trade for firms in Pennsylvania and Texas as well as in Minnesota. There must have been a call in the back of his mind coaxing him to come back here. Farming was in his blood. He returned to Cyrus in 1947 to plunge into farming and to teach at his old WCSA. He met Virginia (Wempner) while a teacher at the WCSA. (That's how my father met my mother too, in an education setting.)

Les and Gina were married in the summer of 1952.

Perhaps the biggest adventure in Les' life was the year he and his family spent in the Philippines. Years later Les would tell us he was skeptical about whether many of his engineering insights were harnessed by a leadership in that country that wasn't all that committed. He did what he could there, under the umbrella of the International Cooperative Association.

A realization grew in the late 1950s that ag schools had seen their heyday. The nature of farming was changing. Kids no longer had to be sent into a compressed school year so as to maximize their availability for farm labor. Farm kids could live more like the town kids did. The time was arriving for the Morris campus to find a new mission.

Legend has it there was much anxiety and doubt in Morris over whether this campus could in fact find a future. The University resuscitated the campus but not in a way that promoted total confidence at first. Legend has it, it was sort of an experimental proposition at the start.

My father traveled widely as director of a choral group that built the fledgling institution's visibility. Eventually we became convinced this liberal arts newcomer had its feet planted firmly on the ground.

The WCSA was gone but some of its pillars remained, plying their knowledge for the West Central Experiment Station, known today by the (cumbersome) name "West Central Research and Outreach Center." Young people tend to call it "the rock."

Les was an old compatriot of Harley Hanke. I remember a most informative speech Harley gave about the WCSA, for a UMM Founders Day celebration. He smiled as he recalled the time a nervous young boy, at the start of a new school year, found that his parents left early before a meal in which the kids were supposed to be joined by their parents. Harley calmed the boy by saying "you can have lunch with me!"

Les retired from the U of M in 1987. He certainly didn't leave farming. Even in his final months at West Wind Village, he talked about the weather in a way that showed he was very sensitive to its effects on farming.

Les was legendary with his softball pitching prowess. I have no doubt he was the equal of Eddie Feigner who was a softball barnstormer. It was futile to try to bat against Les, we're told.

My friend Glen Helberg, who entered heaven just four months before Les, once said of Les that he had such a calming and steadying influence whenever disagreements arose. This was probably Les' trademark as a community leader, because in so many capacities he was a leader. He was no stranger to disagreements or controversy as he served on various boards and councils. He applied his calming hand to try to encourage consensus as much as possible.

I wrote about him when he was chair of the Morris school board. He worked closely with then-superintendent Fred Switzer who held the role when it seemed money was harder to come by for schools. Fred would later say he almost lost his job over the high school auditorium being built. But that auditorium looks mighty modest now next to our opulent concert hall, and I recall no controversy or hair-pulling over that concert hall being built. Heck, I can recall hair-pulling over our high school being built. The public seemed skeptical for a long time (around the late 1960s).

The 1968 gym was a huge step up from the old elementary gym/auditorium (where pigeons now reside), the latter being the kind of facility we saw in the movie "Hoosiers." But today the 1968 gym has gone low-profile as we now have an opulent new varsity gym. Maybe Fred is pinching himself wondering if he's dreaming as he looks at all this.

Times certainly change. We can't rule out that more austere times will arrive again. Pessimist that I am, I tend to remind people of this.

Les died on September 13 at West Wind Village, having reached age 92. We were happy to spend some time with him on his last Christmas.

Les and Gina had two children: Keith and Laurie. Laurie was born just one day before me, in January of 1955. Les and Gina had four grandchildren: Carl, Rachel, Christina and Bethany.

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Science building at UMM

Click on the image to reach the website of the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM). Our institution is known as the "jewel in the crown" of the U.

Origin of our town name:

Our community was platted in 1871. Our nation was putting the Civil War behind it and flexing its muscles to the west. Morris was named after a railroad engineer. By midsummer of 1871, the village had become a tent town with a depot, an emigrant house and about eleven saloons. Victorian homes here in the 1880s spelled prosperity.

"Your home on the prairie"

Click on this image to reach the "I Love Morris" website, the older of my two websites (or blogs) - B.W.

An anchor of main street:

Eul's Hardware is an iconic old building on main street (Atlantic Avenue). It's believed to be the oldest building on Atlantic. It was built for the newly established First National Bank. The two-story, 25 x 75 foot building cost about $6000. In 1940 John Eul bought the (then) Citizens Bank building for his hardware operation. He added an addition in 1947. The Euls continue to oversee the business.

"Home of the people lovers"

Click on the image to reach the Willie's Super Valu website. It's the premier full-service grocery store of Stevens County. It's named for the late iconic Willie Martin.

Let there be lights!

What a milestone (and life changer): In the spring of 1897 the first electric lights in the village of Morris came on. A quote from the time: "Our quiet and inoffensive village was suddenly dropped out of the appalling abyss of darkness into the glare of electric sunshine." My, we take it for granted today.

The great Kirby Puckett

Click on the image to listen to a song written by your blog host, Brian Williams, about Kirby Puckett in 1997. The song was recorded in Nashville TN. It was put online in the fall of 2014 (finally). Kirby Puckett left us too soon. He was at home in the Dome!

Stevens County Courthourse

This new complex houses our Stevens County government and services. Click on the image ro reach the official county website.

Wildlife of the early days:

Nature romped with fair abundance within sight of Morris' early residents. Buffalo were seen roving around the prairie east of the Pomme de Terre River. Elk, deer and lynx were numerous, and bear were also seen in a few places. Today, a rare black bear that wanders into town causes a great stir!

Wildflowers just outside Morris

Click on this image to reach the "Minnesota wildflowers" website.

School of distinction:

UMM is an undergraduate liberal arts campus of the University of Minnesota. What a joy it was for Morris to land this, at a time when the old "ag school" on the campus was being phased out. UMM's mission is highly distinctive as an academically rigorous public undergraduate residential liberal arts college. The U of M board of regents established it in 1959.

First Lutheran Church - morris mn

Click on the image to reach the website for First Lutheran Church, an ELCA-affiliated church in east Morris. It's my church - B.W.

Roots of our community:

The first stopping place in Stevens County was Gager's Station, considered by some historians to be one of the more important stopping places on the Wadsworth Trail. The station was nestled among the trees near Wintermute Lake.

Pomme de Terre River - mn

Click on the image to reach the website for the Pomme de Terre River Association. The river flows to the east of Morris, toward Appleton, and eventually joins the Minnesota River.

Lemonade from lemons?

Pomme de Terre Park, Morris' largest and most developed park, probably came about as a direct result of the Depression.

Stevens County Museum - morris mn

Click on this image of our Stevens County Museum to call up the website for the Stevens County Historical Society. The county has a bountiful history. The museum building was originally a Carnegie library. It's on the west side of town. Our public library today is on the east side.

Wind turbines - morris mn

This image includes one of the two grand wind turbines that are a defining feature of Morris. The image also shows the overlook which is part of the WCROC horticulture garden. Those initials stand for "West Central Research and Outreach Center." The turbines are closely associated with the WCROC and the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM). Click on the image to read background about renewable energy in Morris.

About Me

Brian Williams is a former writer in the Morris "dead tree" media who plies his pastime in the wonderful, liberating new media today. He refuses to consider himself an alternative journalist because the web is now the mainstream. Newspapers are in rapid retreat and it won't be long before they will exist in vestigial form only. Print media will not die because as a media observer put it: "We will always have print media for as long as there's a 'print' button on your computer." A once weekly newspaper (like in Morris) won't cut it. It's not consistent with our instant gratification culture. But the media are blossoming more than ever thanks to all the new tools. It's an uplifting, "green" new universe. Key word suggestions: morris mn - hancock mn - donnelly mn - cyrus mn - chokio mn - alberta mn - 56267 - stevens county - morris theater mn - morris area tigers - hancock owls.

Our old historic Morris Theater

It shows signs of age but we love it. Click on the image to reach the website for our Morris Theater Co-op.

Is this our world?

"In a consumer society, there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy."-Ivan Illich

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Historic Stanton House

This 19th Century mansion was originally occupied by Lewis Stanton, son of Edwin Stanton who was U.S. secretary of war under Abraham Lincoln. Click on the image to read a post on the subject from the "I Love Morris" site.

Landmark of long ago

Frisby's Grove was situated between two lakes in Section 22, Morris Township. It became a popular place to stop. Mrs. Frisby was known as a good cook and kind person. The place became popular with emigrants and land seekers.

Morris Public Library - mn

Click on the image to reach the website of the Morris Public Library, a rich asset of the community. It can seem like a beehive sometimes! If serves all ages and interests wonderfully. Our librarian is the dynamic Melissa Yauk.